Chinese Students Are Big Buyers in Australia

Parental help allows university-aged students to transition from renters to purchasers

As a real estate broker in Melbourne, Australia, Erik Zhang has helped many Chinese students find homes over the years. He’s found that students start looking into buying not long after they arrive in the country.

“It did not come as a complete surprise to me, ” says Zhang, since he personally had a similar experience. He got into the University of Melbourne in 2010 and rented an apartment near campus. He paid A$370 a week, or the equivalent of A$19,000 a year to share a one-bedroom apartment with somebody else. “After five months of inconvenient dorm-style life, I decided to buy my own place.” Currently, he pays about A$24,000 a year for the loan he took out for his two-bedroom apartment.

Over the past decade, more and more Chinese students studying in Australia have become homeowners. According to ACproperty, Australia’s largest Chinese real estate portal, in the last year alone, 56% of Chinese students searched properties to buy about seven months after they inquired about rentals.

Data Source: ACproperty

While one might question students’ financial capability in purchasing properties, most Chinese students still receive financial support from their families. A separate survey by ACproperty shows that a family will spend an average of A$50,000 a year to support a studying child in Australia. Of these families, more than 85% are interested in receiving information about new development projects near their child’s university.

“Owning property, rather than renting, is one of the highest priorities for a Chinese family,” says ACproperty’s Director, Esther Yong.

And the number of student buyers is ever growing. According to the Australian Education and Training Department, there were close to 150,000 Chinese (including Hong Kong) students studying in Australia in 2015. Most attend universities on the East Coast, with Melbourne leading as the most popular destination.

Senchi Gu, who is originally from Shanghai, came to Australia as a high school student. Many of his Chinese friends have purchased properties close to their schools. He personally waited until his senior year at RMIT University to join the circle. “Renting is like working for other people while owning is like growing your own business,” says Gu. And real estate is booming in Melbourne, after all. “The price keeps going up, it is better to buy earlier than later,” he adds.